>>>>>>>http://www.cbc.ca/health/story/2011/01/06/flu-early.html
>>>>>>
>>>>>>We got our flu shots about a month ago. With the limited insurance plan I currently have, I can't afford to get really sick. A flu shot is cheap insurance. <g>
>>>>>
>>>>>Sounds like "I wish I was so rich... then I could contract some exotic disease".
>>>>>
>>>>>But then the verb "contract" sounds so ambiguous... as if one could hire a contractor to be ill instead.
>>>>
>>>>The flu business is taking off nicely. A few well placed scare stories and people pile in for unnecessary treatment.
>>>>Here's my tip. Get flu. Go to bed. Drink plenty of fluids. Feel ill for a few days.Get better.
>>>
>>>There was an article in my local paper the other day that so far, there have been three deaths from flu in my county this flu season: a 2-year-old and two otherwise healthy young adults. None had had flu shots.
>>>
>>>Personally, I'll take the flu shot and avoid the risk of dying unnecessarily.
>>>
>>>Tamar
>>
>>So you are now classing flu as a fatal disease.
>
>Not for all, but a lot of people do die from flu. Usually, it's people whose health is otherwise compromised in some way. The current flu strain seems to be taking out people who are otherwise healthy (which is what happened in the 1918-1919 flu epidemic).
>
>I saw elsewhere that you've never had flu. You're very fortunate. I have and it's a thoroughly miserable experience. Between the (albeit usually low) risk of dying and how awful flu is when you get it, I'm happy to get a shot once a year to protect myself.
>
>Tamar

I have had colds and they may well have been flu. I don't usually go to a doctor to ask.

One of the few times I have been years ago they where about as much use as a chocolate teapot.

And with flu constantly mutating the vaccines are always playing catch up